| En Name: | Chernyshevsky |
| Ru Name: | Чернышевский |
| Loc Name1: | Чернышевскай |
| Loc Lang1: | Yakut |
| Coordinates: | 63.0167°N 140°W |
| Map Label Position: | right |
| Federal Subject: | Sakha Republic |
| Adm District Jur: | Mirninsky District |
| Adm Selsoviet Jur: | Chernyshevsky |
| Adm Selsoviet Type: | Settlement |
| Adm Ctr Of: | Settlement of Chernyshevsky |
| Inhabloc Cat: | Urban-type settlement |
| Mun District Jur: | Mirninsky Municipal District |
| Mun District Jur Ref: | [1] |
| Urban Settlement Jur: | Chernyshevsky Urban Settlement |
| Mun Admctr Of: | Chernyshevsky Urban Settlement |
| Pop 2010Census: | 5025 |
| Established Date: | 1959 |
| Current Cat Date: | 1961 |
| Postal Codes: | 678185 |
| Bodystyle: | width:23.5em; |
| Chernyshevsky population | |
| Label1: | 2010 Census |
| Data1: | 5,025 |
| Label2: | 2002 Census |
| Data2: | 5,310 |
| Label3: | 1989 Census |
| Data3: | 8,298 |
| Label4: | 1979 Census |
| Data4: | 6,029 |
Chernyshevsky (Russian: Черныше́вский; Yakut: Чернышевскай) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Mirninsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located 92km (57miles) from Mirny, the administrative center of the district,[2] on the southern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau on the Vilyuy River, a tributary of the Lena. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 5,025.
It was founded in 1959 with the construction of the dam and hydroelectric plant on the Vilyuy River and granted urban-type settlement status in 1961. It was named after Nikolay Chernyshevsky, who was exiled in Siberia from 1864 until 1883, including from 1871 in nearby Vilyuysk.
After the hydroelectric project was completed in 1976, a large number of inhabitants moved away, with the population falling by almost a third between 1970 and 1979 but remaining fairly stable in the following years.
Within the framework of administrative divisions, the urban-type settlement of Chernyshevsky[3] is incorporated within Mirninsky District as the Settlement of Chernyshevsky. As a municipal division, the Settlement of Chernyshevsky is incorporated within Mirninsky Municipal District as Chernyshevsky Urban Settlement.[4]
Chernyshevsky is the site of the Vilyuy Dam, the first major hydroelectric project in the world to be built on permafrost, and with the coldest operating conditions of any hydroelectric plant in the world.[5] The dam and the associated hydroelectric plant (Vilyuyskaya GES) are the main employers. The plant has a capacity of 680 MW and supplies power for the diamond mining activities in the nearby Udachny and Mirny.
There is also some fish farming in the reservoir behind the Vilyuy Dam, as well as some timber production and a geological research organization.
Chernyshevsky lies on the road leading from Lensk on the Lena River to Mirny and Udachny. This is currently being upgraded as the future Anabar Highway, which will connect up to the Anabar River and the Arctic Ocean.
Chernyshevsky has a harsh subarctic climate (Dfc).